THE FESTIVAL!!!

MEGAN: On the morning of the Festival, I was up at 4:40 am (after almost sleeping through my alarm) and when Annie drove up in front of the house at 5:00 am, I loaded all of my stuff for the show and helped the other girls load the things Lendon wanted us to bring. We went to the stable and did our stalls, and we loaded all the horses and equipment (including 21 bales of shavings and 9 bales of hay) and had left by 6:50 am- a bit later than planned, but not so late that anyone would miss their ride in the schooling show. I drove up with Fern’s trailer and all of the D4K stuff with Annie at the wheel, studying furiously for the written test that night. We arrived just a few minutes after the horses and after unloading the shavings and getting some down in the stalls, we took the horses off and got the rest of the stuff off the truck. After giving water and hay, we organized all our stuff and I went to check in at the show office. I got my packet, and then began setting up for the used tack sale. After about 20 minutes I realized that it would take me hours to do it alone, so returned to the barn, walked my horse, and brought back helpers to finish up. Around 11:45 I groomed and tacked up Simba, and we had a little lesson with Annie at 12:40. Simba felt very tight throughout his whole body, not surprisingly due to a 2 hour trailer ride from Bedford to Saugerties. Getting Simba loose and bending from side to side was the goal of our short ride, and after about a half hour we finished up and took him back to the barn. I bathed him and after grazing for a bit, took him back and studied for about 20 minutes. Then, the braiding for the jog at four ensued. He looked so beautiful- gleaming, braided, and ready for our first ever jog! I took him out and jogged him down the road and kept him moving until it was our turn. Then, I took him in the ring, introduced Simba and I and stated our number, and did the pattern. You walked down a straightaway and upon reaching two potted plants, picked up a trot until a single potted plant about 30 yards away. Then you walked around the turn to the right, and trotted back in a straight line toward the judge. Simba and I, just as we had practiced, did it correctly and Pam Goodrich was very pleased with our presentation. Lendon, unbeknownst to me, also saw it and was happy with our work. Proud as can be, we walked back to the barn and gave Simba dinner, and began to decorate his stall a little for the team theme- “Gleneden Gladiators”. Decorating lasted only about 10 minutes, and then I began to study for the written test- last minute review is always a good thing before the test!! After Lendon’s opening comments, she invited Fr. Mack, a priest who helped to sponsor the Festival and writes for Dressage Daily to pray and begin the test. I finished with the last group of kids, and after returning to the barn, walked Simba again, gave him night check hay, and decorated his stall in the team theme. Mom finished grading tests at about 9:30 pm and after I finished cleaning all my tack, all of us (me, Christopher- my brother, and Mom) went back to the hotel and crashed for the night. The next morning, we were at the stable by 5:45 am so I could feed all the horses, give Simba water, do his stall, walk him, and braid him before volunteering at 7:00 am until 9:00 and riding at 10:35. So, after taking care of feed and walking Simba, I did his stall and finished all of the re-braiding (except 2 at the bottom of his neck) because he had laid down in the shavings and gotten his braids completely covered in sawdust! At five to 7:00 am, I rushed off to the volunteer booth and worked for Mrs. Aiken for two hours. I was a scribe to start, then organized supplies, then checked on all the roving trainers and ring stewards, and finished up with some labeling. At 9:00 I ran back to the stable and finished my braiding, groomed Simba, changed, tacked him up, and presented myself for the turnout inspection. At 10:00 am I had a lesson with Annie, and after a warm-up walk, we worked on getting Simba laterally loose and supple. He felt really good and about ten minutes before our ride, we left Annie and went into the big arena to let Simba see all of the new sights and get used to the big warm up ring. Then, we went in to do our test. Simba was good- in front of my leg, and really seeming to enjoy showing off. Michael Barisone was our judge, and after we had completed the test (Second Level test 2) he said that I presented Simba very well and that we rode a great test. His comments were to sit back a bit more to encourage the horse to come up and forward in front of me, and to go more uphill. I was very pleased with our test, and took Simba back to his stall to rest in front of his fan for about 30 minutes before it was time to tack up again for our First Level test. We warmed up very quickly with Annie to avoid wearing Simba out, and rode our First Level test 2 in front of Kathy Connelly. I felt the ride that Simba was very good, but I was lacking something in my riding. I honestly don’t know what it lacked, but I felt that something was missing. Anyway, she told us that it was a lovely test, and the only thing she wanted to see improve were the downward transitions from the canter lengthenings. Pleased, I took Simba back to Barn 4 and gave him a bath, hoping that he would feel refreshed after a cool bath and standing in front of his fan with his lunch. I got to eat lunch and greet Donna, a family friend who came down to the show from Vermont to watch me compete. Then, after cleaning Simba’s stall again, I groomed him and tacked him up for the last class of the day: Second Level Equitation. I will admit, when I was grazing Simba after his bath, that I was worried that he would be tired for our last class. He is not a high-energy horse by nature, and three classes on a fairly warm August day is a lot after a two-hour trailer ride the day before. We went for a walk down the road, then went to warm up in the general warm up area. Annie gave me a few pointers and Donna brought me my back number, which I almost forgot, and then we went into the equitation ring, trotted around the warm up a few times, and began our class. Simba was wonderful- it may have been that he did not like the different arena, or maybe he just turned on the performance charm, but he was so forward and fancy! We used our corners well, and because the other horses in the class were so much smaller than Simba, we did lots of voltes and other figures to get ourselves enough space to show the judge just what we could do. I was so pleased with our class- he was such a superstar!! Mom and Donna both said that he looked great, and I was so happy! We got a great picture of Simba and me, and then Simba got a bath with Vetrolin and enjoyed the rest of his day in front of the fan. After cleaning all my tack, re-organizing my cluttered trunk, and cleaning Simba’s stall again, I volunteered for about a half-hour, and then went up to the pavilion for a demonstration ride and pizza party. After the party was the parade of teams, when we marched in with our teams and received the team results from the show. We were the second place team in the B Division, and received a set of portraits and a bumper sticker from Dressage Today. Now was the time I found out how I placed for the weekend, so let me explain how the show was scored and where I placed in my whole division as well as individual classes. There are three parts to the show: written test, dressage test, and equitation class. Each counts for 100 points (written test out of 100, dressage test out of 100, and an equitation score out of 100) and when all three are added together, they are divided by 3 and you are left with an average score. So, in my Second Level test I received a 68% and placed fourth in my class. In my First Level test, I got a 73% and won the class. My written test score, after a bit of confusion with the scoring, turned out to be a 96% and I was first in my Second Level division and second in my First Level division. For the equitation if you are entered in two divisions, you only ride the higher equitation class and take that score for both divisions. I won the class with a 97- I was very happy because I have been working on my position especially for the Festival! This left me the winner of both the First and Second Level divisions!! I was sooo excited and very, very proud of my superstar Simba. So, after taking care of him for the night we went back to the hotel and I wrote an essay on why he deserved the Umego Schoolmaster Award and studied for the Stable Management Competition to be held at 8:00 am the next day. The next morning, I was at the barn at 6:45 am to feed, water, groom, and clean Simba’s stall. He was actually the horse that was used for the Stable Management Competition, so luckily all his tack was clean! I went over to the designated area for the competition and fitted a bridle and identified the different components of sweet feed, then volunteered for about an hour and a half around my award ceremonies for First and Second Level. For First Level I received a Youth Dressage Festival Champion jacket and gloves, as well as a ribbon and medal. County Saddlery sponsored my Second Level division, and I won an Amigo cooler, gloves, and a saddle to be custom-fit to Simba and I!!!! Mom was crying and I was simply shocked and overwhelmed. It felt like some sort of fairy tale that you did not dare believe to be true for fear that you would wake up and it would all be over. Then, at the Special Award ceremony, Simba won the Umego Schoolmaster Award and I won the Pikona Memorial Trophy, given to the highest-scoring rider on a Hanoverian. The last surprise (and probably the biggest of the entire show) was that I was also the Grand Champion and highest-scoring rider of the entire show!!! I received a sash, embroidered cooler, and 22” HD Insignia TV!! I can not describe how amazing this day has been- while walking and grazing Simba waiting for the truck (we did not load the stuff and horses until 5:00 pm) I was in an absolute state of shock. I could not believe that all of this happened to me. Who ever would have thought? The horses arrived safely home and after unloading them and all of our stuff we went home, had Chinese and Rainbow cake, and went to bed. I also washed all of my show stuff and had Lendon look at my tests- she said that we need to work on the halts (i.e. I need to demand that Simba do it correctly every time) and that our First Level test was fantastic. Yay! Hopefully, with a bit more work on Second Level, we can achieve scores like that as well. I am off to bed a happy, happy girl, floating into dreamland on a golden cloud of pure bliss.

SIMBA: Mom packed me up onto a trailer again and took me to HITS, where I travel nearly every year. I settled in pretty quickly, and though I was tight from that long trailer ride, felt pretty good otherwise. After a light ride to “work the kinks out” we did our very first jog. I am a pro, and Mom stayed out of my way, so it went pretty well. Mom took good care of me, and I slept well that first night. The next morning I got breakfast early, which made me very happy, and Mom redid my braids. She took me out for a walk first thing, and then I got to eat for awhile before she reappeared, groomed me, and put all my tack on. Thankfully we didn’t warm up too long and I felt good for my test. I heard all of those nice things the judge said about me- I really am quite a star! Mom took me right back to the barn and let me stand in my stall with the fan on for a little rest, then took me back out to do it all over again. This time we were in a different ring and did a different test, and once again the judge was quite impressed with me! Ah, it does feel good to be recognized for one’s hard work. By the end of the weekend with one more class under my belt, I was the Grand Champion and winner of two awards- I sure have earned it and do deserve it!